


Will you remember?

by luchijelly



Series: One Ship + Word Prompts [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Long-Distance Relationship, Love Letters, Marriage, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:05:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luchijelly/pseuds/luchijelly
Summary: Set after the time Sakura and Sasuke traveled together where he has to leave her once more.





	Will you remember?

**Author's Note:**

> Sasusaku + distance prompt from my friend Lexi

There are only a few things Sasuke leaves with her before he goes. Their shared memories and a child, both of which Sakura cherishes to this day. He also leaves his scent on her pillows, some of his scrolls in her closet, and most importantly, his love in her heart. 

Even with these few of Sasuke’s belongings, Sakura doesn’t mind the distance between them. Her heart may long for a simple touch and maybe she tries her hardest to remember his face in sleepless nights, but to her it was worth it. 

Sometimes her friends are worried about her which she doesn’t mind and understands. But they don’t understand what she feels and what she has. 

“Are you sure you’re okay here?” Ino asked one last time. She visited to drop off some extra food and gifts for Sarada. 

“Yes, Ino I’m completely fine. With you here how could I not be?” Sakura answered sincerely. 

Ino smiled and stuck out her tongue teasingly before giving one last hug and bidding goodbye. That was her third visit that week. Earlier, Hinata had visited for the first time in a while after hearing about Sakura and Sarada’s arrival to the village a few weeks ago. 

Sakura appreciates their concern wholeheartedly, but cannot ignore their disappointment in hearing Sasuke left yet again and this time leaving a child behind. The pink haired woman only hopes they can see how at peace she really is. 

Traveling with Sasuke felt like fever dream at this point, one she held one very dearly. And she knows, even if he’s miles away, that he’s still thinks of it too. On the day he left, quietly at daybreak, he left her with a smile she had never seen before. The sun shone on his face like that was its job. She could still not forget the twinkle in his eye. 

Settling back into the village was the least of her worries. She got her position back at the hospital but was forced by her friends to take a maternity leave. She still had the habit of overworking herself she needed to get rid of. 

Additionally, being a mother was a job on its own, one she didn’t prepare for. But she was a strong believer in growing into her roles. If she could grow into the strongest kunoichi in town, she could grow to be Sarada’s Mother. 

The clock would usually strike four am when she would start to miss Sasuke the most. Sarada made it a habit to wake up during the unholiest of hours to Sakura’s expense. But sometimes she would look at her child and see the same twinkle in her eye as her husband and that would be enough. She just had to make sure none of the tear stains were visible the next morning. 

She exists peacefully now, but her hasn’t known how to fly in so long that when she receives that letter from the hawk it feels like someone placed a trampoline under it. His simple words bring the brightest smile to her face. 

She lost count of how many times Sarada has asked to re read the same words over dinner. The smile she gave her mother mimicked the one her father left them with. 

Over the years, the letters pile and also stop. Sarada grows but her smile remains and so does her twinkles. They have a life now, a constant that does not include Sasuke which they have grown accustomed to. 

So when the doorbell rings in a different tone one day, Sakura feels a rush she hasn’t felt in years. She walks to the door and hesitates. Will it be the same? Will it feel the same? Has their distance become a constant she won’t be able to get rid of and will it also tear their hearts apart? 

But when she opens the door and takes a look at the face she tried to remember for so long, the voices in her head go quiet. And the only thing she can hear is “I’m home.”


End file.
